{"id":14411,"date":"2014-04-15T17:20:27","date_gmt":"2014-04-15T22:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=14411"},"modified":"2014-04-15T17:20:27","modified_gmt":"2014-04-15T22:20:27","slug":"amazing-first-terrapin-capture-in-windy-sippican-harbor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=14411","title":{"rendered":"Amazing First Terrapin Capture in Windy Sippican Harbor"},"content":{"rendered":"

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8-Year-Old Female Diamondback Terrapin #35<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Capturing the first diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin<\/em>) of the season in the Great White North demanded daring, skill and an abundance of luck. \u00c2\u00a0Yet, in the field of research, fortune favors the prepared mind. \u00c2\u00a0Kayaking in 45 mph gusts is foolhardy. \u00c2\u00a0Kayaking in 45 mph gusts with a 10 foot net to catch the wind is crazy scary. \u00c2\u00a0Hoping to see, let alone net, an elusive terrapin in the churned murky chocolate waters of Sippican Harbor defines lunacy. \u00c2\u00a0But fortune smiled on the Turtle Journal team Monday, April 14th, and Terrapin #35 — a young 8-year-old female — became the first capture of the 2014 research season.<\/span><\/p>\n

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30 MPH Southwest Winds with 45 MPH Gusts<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

We had seen a male and female pair of terrapins cavorting in the Sippican Harbor mating aggregation at noon on Saturday. \u00c2\u00a0On Sunday, Turtle Journal returned with kayaks in a 20-knot southerly breeze to try for the first capture of the year, but conditions proved impossible for turtles and turtlers. \u00c2\u00a0With winds increasing to 30 mph on Monday with 45 mph gusts out of the southwest, we knew that conditions had only gotten worse. \u00c2\u00a0Still, the forecast for Tuesday called for rain, followed by temperatures dipping into the 40s for Wednesday and Thursday. \u00c2\u00a0Despite the odds, things would not improve any time soon. \u00c2\u00a0We packed up the kayaks and off we went to Marion’s town landing.<\/p>\n

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Sue Wieber Nourse Paddles Sippican Harbor<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Conditions were actually worse than we imagined. \u00c2\u00a0Kayaks were tossed by the gusts, and when wind hit the nets at the “right” angle, they became airfoils that lifted our boats like kites. \u00c2\u00a0To call the experience exciting understates the adrenaline rush. \u00c2\u00a0The fresh southwest breeze blowing up the harbor churned the estuary into the color of Navy mess coffee with a couple of hits of espresso for good measure. \u00c2\u00a0Maneuverability: nil. \u00c2\u00a0Visibility: zero. \u00c2\u00a0Control: \u00c2\u00a0none.<\/p>\n

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Don Lewis Kayaks Head of Harbor Shallows<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

We know these waters very well. \u00c2\u00a0They comprise the major brumation site and mating aggregation within Sippican Harbor. \u00c2\u00a0The bottom of Head of Harbor is composed of a thick, oozy layer of quick mud. \u00c2\u00a0One gust blew so hard it drove Don Lewis and his kayak into the shallows and grounded the boat in the ooze. \u00c2\u00a0To extricate himself, Don dug his oar into the black slimy mud and painstakingly edged the kayak to open water. \u00c2\u00a0As he placed his left side of the paddle in the ooze, he heard a clink. \u00c2\u00a0Don thought, “There’s no rock here.” \u00c2\u00a0He gently tapped the bottom and discovered that the “rock” had moved about a foot. \u00c2\u00a0Don substituted net for oar and scraped. \u00c2\u00a0He raised the net with about 30 pounds of congealed muck. \u00c2\u00a0Using the net as a sieve, Don carefully sifted the mud like a 49er gold miner, and sure enough, he hit pay dirt: \u00c2\u00a0a very surprised Terrapin #35.<\/p>\n

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Don Lewis Examines Female Diamondback Terrapin #35<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Suppressing shock and surprised, we paddled the mile back to the landing and examined our treasure. \u00c2\u00a0Diamondback Terrapin #35 is a young, mature 8-year-old female. \u00c2\u00a0She was first captured by the Turtle Journal Sue Wieber Nourse on April 29th, 2013.<\/p>\n

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8-Year-Old Female Diamondback Terrapin #35<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

She weighed 2 1\/3 pounds and her shell measured 7.2 inches long. \u00c2\u00a0In\u00c2\u00a0the last year she had grown a 1\/3 of an inch in length, and Terrapin #35 looked extremely healthy after a long winter’s slumber.<\/p>\n

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Sue Wieber Nourse Release Diamondback Terrapin #35<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

After collecting scientific data and examining her carefully, we immediately released her back into Sippican Harbor to join her invisible cohorts within the Head of Harbor mating aggregation. \u00c2\u00a0Terrapin #35 is a young mature female and we hope this year to discover her nesting location. \u00c2\u00a0As with most diamondback terrapin populations, the paucity of safe upland nesting locations along the developed Sippican coastline forms the greatest threat to their survival.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

8-Year-Old Female Diamondback Terrapin #35 Capturing the first diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) of the season in the Great White North demanded daring, skill and an abundance of luck. \u00c2\u00a0Yet, in the field of research, fortune favors the prepared mind. \u00c2\u00a0Kayaking in 45 mph gusts is foolhardy. \u00c2\u00a0Kayaking in 45 mph gusts with a 10 foot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[402,23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14411"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14411"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14450,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14411\/revisions\/14450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}